Leaving dogs alone: How can a single person have life outside of work and 2 dogs?

Question

I live alone with a 3yr old Lab mix and a 4 month old border collie mix. I have had the lab for 3 months and the collie for 1 week. They are both potty and crate trained. They interact and play fine when I am supervising them. I have not left them alone with free access to the apartment. However, they do stay in their crates near to one another. They get about 1 hour of walks a day and play together in my apartment and/or in a tennis court (so they can run and be dogs).

I work 8 hours a day 5 days a week. I go home for lunch for an hour. They spend 3-5 hours twice a day for 5 days in a given week in their crates. This they don't really seem to have a problem with this, and in fact I have left them in their crates for a single 6 hour period, but never more then 8 hours in their crates in a given day.

I want a life beyond just work and my dogs. I have a hobby meets 2x a week, 4-5 hours per meeting. I don't want to mean to my dogs, but I want to be able to do stuff still!

Answer 1

If you are vigilant about maintaining their exercise level there is no reason why you cannot have a night or two out during the week without your pets. I would recommend making another night or two "dog night" and taking the time to keep them mentally and physically challenged so they don't be come bored. Unfortunately you are now a pack leader/parent and with that comes with responsibilities. As it seems that you haven't had these dogs for long, did you grow up with pets, or are these your first? If these are not your first pets, I am not sure why you are now asking this question after already getting the dogs. I am a very busy person, however my dog goes everywhere I go. When looking for my dog, I kept that in mind. If you did not, it is your responsibility to find a way to take care of them, or find a new home for them. You have a distinct advantage in owning two dogs, that they can keep each other active and help each other wear off energy when you are there with them. They are also older which improves their ability to stay home for long periods of time. Some other options are doggy day cares that they could go to for the days that you are doing your hobby, that way they are only in their crates while you are active with your hobby. You may also want to talk to friends with pets. See if they want to trade nights of "doggy play dates". I have a few friends who do this regularly when they have exams or late lectures. These are things that you should have thought of long before bringing the dogs home though. Keep this in mind for future pets.

Answer 2

First of all..try getting a dog gate to put across the kitchen door when your out. Leave the crates open so they can go in and out as they please as it is not fair to keep them in there that long during the day. It is ok at night as they sleep. Try taking up something with your dogs. I do working trials with my spaniel..which the lab may be good at..even the collie...or agility. You could do this two nights a week. If you want to go out..why not ask someone to stay with your dogs a few evenings a week. Maybe pay a small amount of money to a friendly neighbour. You don't say what your current hobbies are. Is there any possibility the dogs could go with you? By leaving a 4 month old collie alone all day.without proper socialisation and play..you are asking for trouble. The lab would be ok...but maybe you should try rehoming the collie and keeping the lab..Its a tough situation..and to be honest..if your life was that busy already..maybe you shouldn't have got the dogs in the first place. Unless of course you intended including them in your everyday activities.
I don't mean to moan, but you aren't being fair to the dogs. You really need to consider whether it is a good life for them...or would you rather they were unhappy so you could have a dog around...? there are plenty of other pets you could get that can give you just as much affection as a dog, but dont need as much time..like a cat, or a rat, rabbit etc. they dont need love 24/7

Answer 3

I would try and leave your dogs alone in the apartment outside of their crates and see how they do? Who knows, maybe they will be very good! Also, you could hire someone to come in and just check on your dogs every once and a while. I walk a friend of mines dogs twice a day a few times a week for cheap. Also, if you need to take a longer break, like a vacation, then you can have someone house sit, bring the dogs to a friends house, or bring them to a kennel. I worked at a kennel for 2 1/2 years and, though the conditions are not great, the animals seem to cope and it is not a big deal if you are only gone for 1-2 weeks.
I hope this helps, you can have a life outside of your animals :)
Good luck!

Answer 4

This is a very difficult one, the Border Collie mix might be OK with just 1 hour walk a day at the moment but believe me he won't be when he is older, they are very active dogs and need much to occupy them doing agility etc, I have just rescued my first Border Collie (a year ago) after always keeping German Shepherds, what a culture shock I got, they need so much time spent on them to keep them 'busy', GSD's are a lot more laid back and are not asking you almost constantly for attention, I couldn't imagine keeping this type of dog if they didn't have free access to a garden, my 4 dogs are chasing around my garden as I am typing this and they have already had one of their 3 walks a day, all their walks are mostly off lead as I live on the edge of MOD land, I only work part time and they are never on their own longer than 4 hours! I appreciate it must be hard for a single person who wants to keep dogs but also socialise in the evenings but think how unfair it is on your dogs if you don't see them much during the day and then you start going out in the evenings as well!

Answer 5

I am afraid I need to agree with some of the other posters here, you shuldn't have taken the dogs in if they are alone so much.

I have three dogs at the moment and we never leave them alone in the house for any more than a couple of hours. They need the company and to get out regularily. they can't get that if they are caged for hours on end.

I have also never used a crate (I find the idea a bit strange) and apart from one or two minor incidents we have never had any problems when they have been left alone. We close the doors to any rooms they aren't allowed in to, they are house trained and we don't leave them too long.

If you have to leave them for such long periods, allow them to wander about specific rooms so they don't get stiff or bored, they can also play with each other.

However really to be kinder to the dogs you should get them rehomed, that way they will be better off and you can still do other stuff after work.

Answer 6

Im not beeing funny but your 2 dogs should'nt be left in there crate that long apart from over night.You have 2 high energy dogs and even giving them a 1hour walk a day is not sufficient.In this case i would advice you to rehome them as this is no quality of life for either you or the dogs.If you are adament on keeping them then you need to get them out more.Look into any near by agility classes for your collie mix and possibly even your lab mix,this gets the dogs out more and gives them chance to burn of pent up energy,you will also get chance to socialise with other owners.I do understand where your coming from,but really if you think about it your dogs are the ones that will suffer long term,they will become bored and listless cooped up all day with only an hours exercise.Good luck with whatever you decide.

Answer 7

I have 2 big dogs, a Golden Retriever and a Borzoi. They only enter e crate when they have to go on a plane when they go with me on vacations. I always let them run free around the house when I am out for some hours and there has never be any problem. The max. time I have left them alone were 5 hours. I think its a cruel thing to keep them in a crate every day for hours at a time. Maybe you should trust them more and let them free in the apartment while you are gone. Since they keep each other company I don´t think that they will make much desaster. Then you could also go out at night once in a while for a couple of hours too.
Just imagine someone would shut you up in a crate every day....

Answer 8

There are a few real keys to dog training, whether you are trying to train your dog to come when called, sit, stop barking or any other behavior. Understanding their importance is critical to achieving rapid results that are long lasting and help develop the bond between you and your dog. Read more here https://bitly.im/yQnFr

The first is simple; you must win your dogs mind. If you don’t achieve this first then you will be struggling the all the way. When I talk about winning your dogs mind what I really mean is that your dog looks to you for all the decisions. Before you do anything else watch one of the amazing video sites that show you the 5 Golden rules to establishing yourself as the pack leader. If you aren’t putting these in place then you are setting yourself up to fail. Just at the crucial point where you really want your dog to listen they will go and do their own thing. For sure your dog may play ball occasionally or even most of the time, you may even have a dog that is obedient 99% of the time, however if you want a dog who always listens to you and does as you ask then you need to win your dogs mind.

The second key to success is to motivate your dog. It is really important that you discover what it is that your dog enjoys both in terms of exercise and play but also in terms of a reward. If you can make the experience enjoyable then you will both achieve more and look forward to training.

Some dogs love to fetch, others love agility, and other dogs simply love obedience training, or swimming out into water and retrieve. At least to start with find out what your dogs love is and help them develop this, what I am saying is work with your dog. The other point to recognize is to make training enjoyable reward your dog.

Answer 9

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Leaving dogs alone: How can a single person have life outside of work and 2 dogs?
I live alone with a 3yr old Lab mix and a 4 month old border collie mix. I have had the lab for 3 months and the collie for 1 week. They are both potty and crate trained. They interact and play fine when I am supervising them. I have not left them alone with free access to the apartment. ...

Answer 10

Like Miriam my life is with my dogs, My 2 have the run of the house when I'm out. We go to dog training and do fly ball and agility, not for speed as my 2 Old English Sheepies lumber round the course, but have great fun while we're there.Most of my friends are doggie people and we all get together at weekends, mostly the dogs too. Dogs are a commitment you take on, they come first and your life takes a back seat. Sorry if I sound harsh, but that's the way I feel.